Chapter 3

Esther flinched away from his touch, a reflexive, sharp movement.

Julian' s hand froze in mid-air. His brow furrowed in confusion, then hardened into annoyance.

"What' s wrong with you?" he demanded. "Are you still throwing a tantrum? I already told you, the punishment is over."

He took a step closer, his voice dropping to a low threat. "Don' t make me do something worse. You wouldn' t want to harm the baby, would you?"

The mention of the baby was a physical blow. Esther' s breath caught in her throat. Pain, sharp and real, pierced through the numbness.

"The baby..." she started, her voice a raw, hoarse whisper. "Julian, the baby is..."

Her words were cut off by the ringing of his phone. He glanced at the screen. Katia.

He answered it immediately, his voice instantly softening, all traces of his anger toward Esther gone.

"Katia? What' s wrong?"

Esther could hear Katia' s soft, whimpering voice through the phone. "Julian... I' m scared. There' s a thunderstorm, and the power went out. Can you come over?"

"I' m on my way," he said without hesitation. He hung up and grabbed his keys, already moving toward the door.

He paused at the threshold, turning back to Esther. "What were you saying?"

She looked at his retreating back, at the man who was rushing to comfort his mistress while his wife stood broken in their home. The words died in her throat.

"Nothing," she said. "It' s nothing."

He was gone.

A moment later, a loud clap of thunder rattled the windows.

Esther jumped, a small, involuntary cry escaping her lips. She hated thunderstorms. Ever since she was a child, they terrified her.

The housekeeper, Maria, rushed into the room, her face full of concern. "Mrs. Mcgee, are you alright? Mr. Mcgee just left in such a hurry."

Esther wrapped her arms around herself, her face pale.

She remembered a time when he would have moved heaven and earth to comfort her during a storm.

Now, that same comfort, that same protection, was being given to another woman.

Another crash of thunder echoed through the penthouse, and Esther sank to the floor, curling into a tight ball.

She stayed there all night, sleepless and hollowed out.

The next morning, Maria gently woke her from where she had finally fallen asleep on the sofa. "Mrs. Mcgee, Mr. Mcgee is back. He asked you to come down for breakfast."

Esther walked down the grand staircase like a ghost.

And there, at their dining table, sat Katia French.

"Good morning, Esther," Katia said with a bright, false smile.

Julian, who was placing a plate of pancakes in front of Katia, shot Esther a disapproving look. "Don' t be rude, Esther. Katia was gracious enough to come here to clear the air after you upset her."

Katia looped her arm through Julian' s. "It' s okay, Julian. I' m fine. I know she didn' t mean it."

He stroked Katia' s cheek, his eyes full of adoration. "You' re too kind to her."

Esther sat down, watching them. It was a performance of love and devotion, a twisted parody of what she and Julian once had. She picked at her food, the taste of ash in her mouth.

Julian' s phone buzzed. A work call.

He kissed Katia on the forehead before stepping into his study. "I' ll be right back."

Esther couldn' t take it anymore. She stood up to leave.

"Wait," Katia said from behind her. Her voice had lost its sweet tone, now sharp and cold. "Julian signed something for me last night."

She held up a document. Esther' s eyes focused on the signature at the bottom. Julian' s bold, familiar script. Her heart seized.

It was a divorce agreement. The one her lawyer had drafted. The one she had told Katia to get him to sign.

"He was distracted," Katia purred. "I just slipped it into a stack of investment papers he had to sign before bed. He never even looked at it."

He had promised. Sworn it.

But he had signed away their marriage as easily as he signed a business contract, tricked by the woman who now sat in his wife' s chair.

Katia smiled, a venomous, triumphant look in her eyes. "He' ll do anything I ask. Anything. My score for him is at 90% now. It' s almost over for you."

Esther just stared at her, her face a blank canvas.

"Congratulations," she said, her voice flat.

Katia' s smile faltered. She had expected tears, rage, a breakdown. This cold, dead calm unnerved her. She needed a reaction. She needed to be the victim to cement her victory.

Just as Julian walked back into the room, Katia' s expression changed. Her eyes flashed with a sudden, vicious idea. She grabbed Esther' s hand.

"Esther, please don' t be mad at me!" she cried out, her voice full of fake terror.

Then, with a strength that surprised Esther, Katia shoved her. Hard.

Toward the top of the grand staircase.